1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cutlery.
2. Description of the Related Art
The situation where a traditional bottle cap remover is not present but cutlery is present leads beverage consumers to use the cutlery to open the bottle. A bottle cap is very difficult to remove with existing cutlery designs. Often, beverage consumers use very destructive methods to remove bottle caps, which results in property damage, to the cutlery, the bottle or both.
McMorries, U.S. Pat. No. 96134 discloses a rotable, circular knife attached to a shaft, with a fork pivotally attached to the same shaft to allow a user to force the knife into the food when it is impaled by the fork to cause it to cut via a repetitive lateral motion.
Przybylek, U.S. Pat. No. 1,324,565 discloses a fork in combination with a knife.
Parker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,341,153 discloses a fork in combination with a knife.
Coursen, U.S. Pat. No. 1,585,533 discloses a fork in combination with a knife.
Kramer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,640 discloses a knife and fork combination wherein the knife is electromechanically operated.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,698,767 for a Combination Bar Tool discloses a first piece includes a stirring spoon, a bottle opener, and a corkscrew, and a second piece that includes a removable cover that attaches to the corkscrew base to cover the corkscrew.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,965 for a Multifunction Waiter's Tool discloses a multifunction waiter's tool for combining functions of bottle opener, cigarette lighter, and bread crumb remover. The inventive device includes a handle portion. A bottle opener is pivotally coupled with the handle portion. A utility knife is pivotally coupled with the handle portion. A cork screw is pivotally coupled with the handle portion. A cigarette lighter is disposed within the handle portion opposite the utility knife. A bread crumb removing tool is slidably disposed within the handle portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,200 for Multi-purpose Ice Tongs discloses ice tongs that include a handle and a pair of tongs that extend from the handle and that collectively are able to pick-up an ice cube or other item typically used in the preparation of drinks One of the tongs includes a grater surface for grating a food item. The multi-purpose ice tongs can also include a bottle opener that extends from the handle, a knife stored within the handle, and a zester component within the knife. The surface of the handle of the ice tongs may be utilized as an ice hammer, and one end of the handle is made of a suitable material to enable it to crush a food item contained within a drink glass without breaking the glass.
As used herein, cutlery refers to an instrument used in preparing, serving and/or eating food. Preferably, cutlery refers to a spoon, knife, fork, or any like utensil. The prior art discusses various instruments that have been combined with a bottle opener. However, the prior art fails to disclose the combination of a bottle opener with cutlery.